The Dress
by flooj9235
Summary: Veronica and Six stumble across an abandoned formal dress shop. Veronica finds a bunch of dresses, but Six doesn't even bother to look at suits. Trans!Courier. Friendship fluff.


"Ooh, Six! Look!" Veronica practically bounced to the door of the old abandoned shop, pointing at the faded sign above the door. "It says something about dresswear; they might have a dress like I've always dreamed of!"

The courier gave the wasteland a glance, then offered his companion an uncertain shrug. "Yeah, okay."

Veronica beamed and nudged him with her elbow. "They might even have a snappy suit for you," she teased. "Can't hurt to look!"

There was a flash of something in the courier's eyes, but Veronica didn't notice it as she dragged the man into the old store.

Sure enough, there were seemingly hundreds of untouched dresses in the ruined store. Veronica squealed and began rifling through the racks, holding up different dresses and twirling around with them. Only when she had her arms full of colorful dresses did she look up and realize the courier was still standing near the door awkwardly. "C'mon Six, take a look around! There's gotta be a men's section somewhere."

Six hesitated, then shrugged. "Maybe."

Veronica offered him an encouraging smile. "You can look while I go try these on," she decided, turning and heading to the dressing room.

She loved all of the dresses, feeling delightfully feminine every time she twirled and let the skirt flare out around her knees. Veronica tried to only pick one, but ended up carefully folding all of the dresses and placing them in her bag. When she finally exited the dressing room, Six was still empty handed.

"Nothing in my size," he explained before Veronica could chastise him.

The scribe considered it for a moment and decided not to push him. Six was a gentle, sensitive person, something that Veronica appreciated, even if he was more tender than most men. She didn't like upsetting him, so the scribe simply smiled. "Oh well, better luck next time."

Six shrugged, adjusting his pack on his shoulders and brushing his long, shaggy hair out of his eyes. "Ready to head back to the Lucky 38?"

She nodded her agreement and the pair set out for New Vegas.

=====:=====

Once they were back in the high rise casino, Veronica made it a point to bathe before trying on all her new dresses again. She all but pranced through the suite, dancing to imagined tunes and watching her dresses twirl around her.

Six had watched for a while, laughing, but then retreated to his room. The scribe hadn't thought it strange; he had yet to bathe after their wasteland excursion, and they were both tired.

She hung her dresses up lovingly, rubbing the silky fabric between her fingers once more before heading for the kitchen to get something to eat.

Veronica paused outside the courier's door, a frown crossing her face when she heard a thump and a frustrated grunt from inside the room. The courier swore quietly and then went silent. Veronica hesitated as she lifted a hand to knock at the door. She had no way of knowing what exactly was going on inside, and a rush of embarrassment brought a blush to her cheeks as she considered some of the possibilities.

She was almost sure she heard sniffling, though, and the sound made Veronica knock on the door. "Six? You okay?"

"Everything's fine," the courier called, still sounding frustrated.

The scribe frowned slightly. "You're not, y'know, doing the do, are you?"

"What? God no!" Six's voice was equally disgusted and mortified.

"Good," Veronica said, reaching for the doorknob. "Then I'm coming in."

"No!" the courier cried a moment too late.

Veronica pushed the door open and stopped short, gawking at what she saw. Six was wearing a dress, his face red as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. "... Six?"

"Go ahead, laugh at the freak in the dress," Six spat. "I know it looks stupid!"

The scribe studied Six for a few moments, processing what she was seeing. "No, it doesn't. It's a little loose, but that's easy to fix." She took a few cautious steps toward the courier, relaxing when he didn't lash out again. "I used to date a girl that would only wear suits," she explained. "No big deal."

Six gave her an uncertain look, his eyes filled with tears. "This is different, Veronica," he mumbled. "I'd blame it on Benny blasting a hole in my brain, but it's been… I've been like this for a long time."

Veronica had been studying the dress, trying to figure out how to alter it to fit, but she looked up when the courier spoke. "Like what?"

It took ages for the courier to work up the courage to say anything, and when he did, he choked. The distress on his face was enough to make Veronica step forward and wrap him up in a hug, soothing him until he finally said something.

"I think I'm a woman, Veronica." The courier took a shuddering breath, tense while he waited for the scribe to pull away.

Veronica only paused for a fraction of a second. "You think or you know? 'Cause that's a pretty big thing to come out with and not be sure about." She gently pushed one of the straps back up onto the courier's shoulder, holding the messenger close. "It's okay either way, Six. Honest. Scribe's honor."

The courier didn't seem to know what to do with the acceptance and opted to hide in Veronica's shoulder.

The scribe smiled and hugged her friend. "I'm not the best at sewing, but I can try and help you tailor that to fit."

Six mumbled a teary "thank you" before pulling away and offering Veronica a small smile.

"Keep that smile on," Veronica advised. "We'll get the dress fixed up, and you'll be beautiful."

Six looked embarrassed, but her smile grew and she and Veronica got to work attempting to pin and measure the dress. Hours passed as the pair talked and adjusted, and it was well past midnight when they finally fell back onto the bed exhaustedly.

The dress hung in the courier's wardrobe, tailored to fit Six with a few extra frills Veronica hadn't been able to help adding. It was beautiful when paired with Six's shy smile, just as Veronica had predicted.

Six curled her pinky finger around Veronica's and gave it a squeeze. "Thanks, Vee."

Veronica stifled a yawn and looked over at the courier. "For what?"

A warm smile played across the courier's face. "For accepting me."

Veronica grinned and rolled over to press a friendly kiss to the courier's cheek. "Ditto."

The pair laid there in silence for a while longer, and finally Veronica heard the courier's breathing even out. She opened her eyes and smiled fondly, getting up and getting her friend a blanket. "Sleep well, beautiful," she murmured, tucking the blanket around the courier and retreating to her own room, glad that the courier had been able to trust her. Friends were a rare thing in the Mojave, and Veronica was grateful to have found such a sweet woman to share her travels with.

* * *

_I hope this didn't come across as insensitive in any way. If anything, I fall on the other end of the trans spectrum, so writing about someone wanting to come across feminine was strange for me._  
_Regardless, I hope that this is decent and that it reaches the people that need it the most. Thanks for reading!_


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